The Turning Point: Coenen vs. Kaufman

In the waning moments of the second round of their Strikeforce
title bout, champion Sarah
Kaufman waded in behind a straight right hand and tied up with
Marloes
Coenen, looking to bully her challenger against the cage. The
tactic had proven successful, if not exactly fruitful, for the
smaller Kaufman thus far in the bout. This time, however, Coenen
had other ideas.

As Kaufman secured double underhooks, Coenen pivoted her hips and
used a harai goshi to send the champion tumbling to the
canvas for the first time in the match. Coenen’s right leg stuck
beneath her on the sweep, allowing Kaufman to reverse into the
Dutchwoman’s guard, but the damage was done: Coenen now knew how to
get this fight where she wanted it.

Glancing at her corner with 10 seconds left in the frame, Coenen
thrust her hips upward, angling for an armbar. Kaufman rose to her
feet and escaped danger, but left her appendages dangling, allowing
Coenen a second, more successful attempt. Though Kaufman broke
loose of the hold just before the bell, the sequence would prove a
portent of things to come.

Between rounds, trainer Martijn de
Jong told his fighter what he wanted to see.

“I told Marloes to come out with a hard right straight, even if it
was on her defense, to let [Kaufman] think that Marloes was going
to put the pace up and try to hit harder in the standup. Instead of
that, go for a takedown after you feint with some boxing again, set
the takedown up properly,” says De Jong.

Sure enough, the first punch Coenen threw in the third round was a
hard right, and less than a minute into the frame, she tripped
Kaufman to the mat again. After a brief scramble, the Canadian once
more found herself in Coenen’s guard, a position De Jong says suits
his student just fine.

“I always want Marloes to be on top, but ending up in the guard is
also not bad,” says the Golden Glory head coach. “Marloes moves
very naturally there. Working the guard is very natural to her
since she has been training BJJ and MMA for 15 years with me
already.”

Working from her back, Coenen immediately began pulling Kaufman’s
head down while inching her own legs upward. The frustrated
champion busted free and tried to inflict damage with hammer fists
from Coenen’s now-open guard.

As Kaufman wailed away, Coenen covered up, her forearms absorbing
the worst of her opponent’s punches. Then, she saw her
opportunity.

Coenen latched on to Kaufman’s right arm, twisted her hips and
swung her legs around to isolate the limb. As in the second round,
Kaufman stood up, but this time there was no escape. Upside down
and stacked against the base of the cage, Coenen straightened the
arm out and forced the previously unbeaten fighter to tap.

It was all according to plan, says De Jong, whose strategy for
Coenen was always to capitalize on her rangy frame and significant
reach advantage, keeping Kaufman at bay and out of her “rushing
forward rhythm.” In preparation for the fight, the Dutch team spent
time drilling the overhand right and left uppercut combo, as well
as the leg kicks which Coenen used to great effect in the opening
rounds.